National Park Service Completes Prescribed Burn at the Gran Quivira unit of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument

A firefighter monitors a burn pile

NPS

The National Park Service completed a 325-acre active management project at the Gran Quivira unit of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument in March 2020.

Fire personnel used prescribed fire to reduce the hand piles that were created during a thinning project, approximately ten years ago. The project was conducted to improve forest health by reducing the build-up of vegetation that can fuel a wildfire.

Fire plays a natural role at Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument and helps ensure the resiliency of this fire dependent ecosystem. Over 100 years of fire suppression has occurred on most public lands throughout the western United States, which has greatly affected forest health and wildlife.

Without the natural process of fire, southwestern forests and woodlands have become overgrown and vulnerable to drought, insects, and threats of catastrophic wildfire. Restoration of forest and woodland ecosystems using appropriate management actions helps to re-establish the natural fire regime and benefits native plant and animal communities while at the same time protecting visitors, facilities, and resources within and adjacent to the park from unwanted fire effects from wildfires.